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Titus Marius
Titus Marius 'is the founder and one of the current '''Consuls '''of the Republic of Pythas. A former 4-star General and Military Governor of the old Terran Empire under Putin, Marius was one of the most successful Generals of the old imperial era, serving heavily in the ''First Jiralhanae War ''as a lower-level Commissioned Officer, rising to the rank of General during the interwar period and the during the ''Cygnus Rebellion, before igniting and leading the Terran armies in the Second Jiralhanae War, concluding with the conquest of much of the Jiralhanae Empire and the establishment of new colonies and territories in the Western regions of the Terran empire. Marius's is famous for being merely 32 years old upon earning the rank of General, 34 years old upon becoming Military Governor, and was 38 years old when he founded the Republic of Pythas in 2581. A passionate orator, Marius was highly respected by many of his subordinate officers and troops, considered to be a highly charismatic, brave, and passionate leader who cared deeply for his troops. His ability to greatly motivate and embolden his officers and soldiers shined through in both of the Jiralhanae Wars, achieving great strategic feats and achievements, and peaked during his Marian March, ''where he ended up rallying much of the old Imperial army to his cause. His strategic insight and tactics during the wars were rated to be among the best of the Terran Military by his fellow contemporary Generals, and despite his young age, low-birth, and lower overall standing in terms of influence and strength to other Generals, he was still widely respected as a formidable and highly skilled General in his own regard. During the beginning of the ''Fragmentation Wars, ''Marius, a Military Governor and General, flew to Earth to attempt to mediate and voice his position for a peaceful transition to a new stable Terran government, wishing to avoid a Civil war between Humans. During an emergency conference between some of the most prominent and powerful Generals, Marius was a part of the minority that wanted to preserve the Terran Empire and prevent Civil War. He appealed to the Generals to see reason and put their differences aside in the name of stability and Human unity. His humanistic and peaceful appeals seemed to catch the attention of Field Marshal Atticus Metellus, and, more importantly, Admiral Joseph Eden, both of whom were among the few to secretly support his stance in the conference. Ambitious and powerful Generals however quickly overshadowed him, and when the tensions in the conference escalated and everyone began shouting and threatening each other, Marius was denounced by some key Generals. Feeling that his life was now in danger due to his open stance, Marius walked out of the meeting and immediately left Earth as tensions began to turn into open conflict. In his escape, Marius's escaping fleet was saved by the benevolence of Admiral Joseph Eden, whom Marius later thanked and considered himself forever in debt to. Marius's journey back to the territory where he reigned as Military Governor quickly became known as the ''Great Marian March, where he visited numerous solar systems, planets, garrisons, and facilities along the way rallying troops to his cause. His renown, motivational skills, and oratory passion allowed him to convince most of the cream of the old imperial army to his cause, gaining the allegiance of legendary Divisions and Brigades, and even the infamous ''Viper Army, ''considered the strongest field army of the old empire. Upon his return to the Atras System, Marian declared it a safe haven for any and all people of the Terran Empire seeking to escape the now full-blown Civil war between all of the Generals. As more and more soldiers and civilians flocked to his side, Marian began to form a new nation based on his own beliefs and ideology. After Field Marshal Atticus Metellus arrived with his entire fleet and army to join Marius's cause, he declared the birth of the ''Pythas Republic'', named after the legendary republican hero Gaius Pythax of the Democratic era of the Terran empire. Marius reigned as a temporary Dictator of the new nation as he waged a military campaign against the antagonistic and ambitious General Batiatus, and began to establish civil order in the process. His numerous military victories over General Batiatus, greatly aided by (now) Imperator Atticus Metellus, resulted in the annexation of Batiatus' fledgling nation, forming the borders of modern Pythas. In 2583, after two years of Dictatorial rule where Marius stabilized, strengthened, and built the nation, he voluntarily abdicated his position and handed over his powers to the Senate, providing the ultimate precedent for the value of democracy over autocracy. His influence as a very likable moderate, humanistic, kind, and successful leader however quickly resulted in Marius being elected as one of the first Consuls of the nation in a landslide electoral victory alongside his closest friend and ally, Atticus Metellus. His reforms, laws, and actions during both his Dictatorial era and his time as Consul has transformed Pythas from a small, growing nation into a formidable military and economic Juggernaut, as well as a symbol of modern democracy. He is widely loved by the public and is rated by many as one of the most motivational and successful leaders of the post-war era. Biography Born into a middle-class militaristic family in the city of Stockholm in Earth, Marius spent much of his childhood and teenage years studying and living at Earth, travelling around the Sol System and learning from his Father, Decter Marius, where and whenever he could. He had a comfortable upbringing and was heavily imprinted upon by his Father, who was a prominent senator during Marius's teenage years. His father was a moderate and a liberal, a military veteran that was vocal about his views of liberalism, democracy, and humanitarianism. Titus's father passed on many of his views down to his son, forming the foundation and basis of Titus's future Republican views. Much of Marius's future oratory and charismatic skills are said to have been passed down to him by his father, who was a fantastic orator and a key speaker when taking the stage in the Senate. Later in his life, Titus attributed much of his success and views to his father, who, up until his death from old age right before the Fragmentation Wars, continued to council and guide Titus. At the age of 18, in 2561, Titus joined the Military Institute like most of his ancestors have done in the past and began training and educating for an officer role. Incredibly ambitious and talented, Marius excelled in the Academy, showing promise as a potential future and highly skilled career officer. He passed with some of the highest marks, grades, and results in the Academy. Almost immediately, Titus was offered and accepted commission as a Lieutenant Colonel, and was assigned to the XXII Battalion stationed in the 'Atras System '''in 2565 at the age of 22. He humbly served there with little action until the eruption of the ''First Jiralhanae War ''in 1866, where his Battalion was involved in the defense of Tarsonis against a Jiralhanae invasion. Ordered to defend a major flank, Marius shocked his superiors and adversaries alike when he realized that the Jiralhanae advance was crucially overstretched, and subsequently lead his men in an attack on the exposed enemy flank. The shocked Jiralhanae shattered under the sudden attack, and Marius successfully routed an entire enemy Battalion. His success earned his Regiment, and subsequently the entire Division, the initiative in the battle, triggering a massive domino effect that ended in the rout of many of the Jiralhanae attackers in the following days. After the eventual Terran victory at Tarsonis, Marius was acknowledged both for his bravery and for his brilliance, as well as for his role in winning a decisive victory at a crucial point in the conflict, eventually seeing himself promoted to the rank of Colonel and given the command of the XVI Regiment. Marius then went on to lead his new Regiment with further success in the Terran offensives across the System, participating in the recapture of the planets ''Agmundr and Edal. ''In the final moments of the ''Battle of Edal, Marius, by now a Brigadier General at the head of a Brigade, persevered against all odds in the face of a last, desperate Jiralhanae counter-attack. His ability to hold out despite great odds until reinforcements could arrive has been praised by many as the cornerstone of the Terran victory at Edal. By the time of the Terran victory at the end of the war in 2570, Marius, at the age of 27, ended the war with the rank of Major General, given the command of the XVIII Division. Marius described his service in the four years of the the First Jiralhanae War ''as his testing ground and time of great experience. Starting out the war as a Lieutenant Colonel, he ended the war as a Major General, considered by many a great feat given his young age. Political and Personal Views Titus Marius is a modern liberal and Republican, a committed Democrat outspoken about the virtues and benefits of democracy. The center-left Decterian Party was founded by Titus Marius in 2582, named in honor of his father, one of the earliest supporters of democracy in the old Terran empire. Marius to this day remains the leader of the Party, and has spread its influence and views via his Consulship's'. While his actual political views and opinions can be hard to place at times, he can be best described as a strong Social Democrat, though is a very pragmatic man capable of compromise with other members of his own party, as well as with other parties. He has also occasionally been seen agreeing even with some of the ideas of center-right and right parties on issues such as state security and military spending, being himself in favor of a strong military to prop up and protect the nation. Marius has been a strong support of civil, political, and human rights across the nation. His strong support of the military has not come at the expense of the civilian population, Marius himself being strongly against public surveillance and any notion of suppression of the media or freedom of speech. Issues that have plagued 20th, 21st, 22nd, and even 23rd century Earth, such as discrimination based on race, gender, religion, and/or sexuality, have been re-affirmed in the Pythian Constitution of 2584 as unacceptable in the society of Pythas. Marius is also a supporter of allowing civilians to have the right to bear arms,but has made it clear that Civilians can only possess a sidearm of a caliber not exceed that of a simple pistol, forbidding civilians from owning rifles of any kind. Weapons of any kind remain forbidden to be carried to public places or events, and establishments retain the right to ask customers to hand over any weapons before entering, effectively limiting civilians to only being able to bear arms when travelling or commuting. On the issue of the wealth disparity in Pythas, Marius has made his stance known to be in favor of the lower and middle classes. In recent years, Marius has encouraged legislation that would allow higher taxing of the rich, and greater distribution of wealth to the middle and lower classes. In 2593, Marius disbanded several "too big to fail" institutions, and began comprehensive financial reforms to spread out the wealth of the nation more equally. On Social Security, Marius is a big advocate of supporting and protecting Workers, ensuring worker rights such as sick leave, maternity/paternity leave, etc, and has protected practices dating back to the 21st century such as Universal Health Care, Tuition-free education, comprehensive pension plans, and unemployment protection. Complaints by Aliens and Humans alike about Police Brutality lead to Marius slashing police budgets and substantially demilitarizing the police, as well as bringing over the famous discipline of the Pythian military to reign the police back in line, making them once more respected rather than feared. Marius has been an opponent of Capital punishment for much of his Consulship, preferring education and rehabilitation over the death sentence. However, Marius has allowed a law to pass that gives the Republic the right to bring back capital punishment for some of the highest level crimes conducted by repeat offenders who failed rehabilitation, as well as in times of national emergency. Marius has been a strong advocate of keeping people out of prison, and supports the funding of extensive rehabilitation, prevention, education, and job programs to prevent future crime among offenders. Marius' policy has lead to Drug use being decriminalized across the nation but not legalized. Illegal drugs are not publicly sold or encouraged, but being caught possessing any substantial amount of them leads to rehabilitation and support rather than criminal punishment. As a result, the use of illegal drugs not being a social taboo and not being criminalized has lead to Pythas being able to boast a society free from oppression by mafias or cartels, with low levels of drug related crime and death, lower spread of disease, and in some cases even an overall lower drug usage. Marius has been outspoken about his mistrust of Alien species, and the necessity of caution when dealing with them. His experience dealing with the Jiralhanae, and other Alien species during the ''Fragmentation Wars, has made Marius wary of dealing with many Alien Species, believing that they do not respect Humanity and therefore are liable to act out of turn or at the expense of Human interests. However, unlike other leaders and parties (such as the Orion Commonwealth's Rebirth Party), Marius does not seem to preach Human supremacy, nor does he seem to support innate or blatant aggression, hate, or discrimination against Alien species. Under his Consulship, Marius has shown leniency and compassion to certain Alien Species, particularly to Turians and Salarians, and has even taken measures to using the military in suppressing violent demonstrations and acts of hate against Alien minorities. Nonetheless, Marius is usually found himself heavily influenced by public opinion, which is usually anti-alien or indifferent at best. Marius gave much of his support to the formation of ''The Galactic Triumvirate, '''''an alliance between the human nations of Pythas, Orion, and Kalkis as a frontier against other Aliens. His stance on Aliens can therefore be described as cautious and wary, but also ambivalent where more friendly aliens are concerned. However, during his Consulship, Marius has been ambivalent at best regarding the treatment of Alien species. His blind eye to providing any sort of minority recognition to any Alien language, easing limitations on Alien immigration, and to providing Aliens the amount of social, public, and political freedoms otherwise guaranteed to Humans, has made him criticized by some of the Alien minorities in the republic, as well as pro-Alien activists. Aliens notably have almost no political freedoms, being unable to vote, run for political office, or fund or support any political parties or members. While Aliens seem to have some public and judicial freedoms, such as the right to a fair and impartial trial, among other common freedoms, they are continually segregated from Humans in many areas of the Republic, subjected to spontaneous violence by Humans, forbidden to marry Humans, and not allowed to join the military or serve in otherwise prestigious jobs. Aliens frequently find themselves on the receiving end of blame aimed at them for supposedly being untrustworthy, aggressive. Some are even branded as terrorists, and as a result, are the only members of the Republic that can be subject to random state surveillance. Some liberal and pro-human activists spit on the treatment of Aliens as hardly being any better or different from the old Jim Crow laws of 19th Century Earth. It is important to note that these elements of Pythas society are more of the recurring appearance and attitude of centuries of Human ideology and animosity against Aliens as a whole rather than the direct result of Marius' governance. While Marius has done little to alleviate the issues and problems facing Alien minorities across the nation, he has also never endorsed or supported their ill treatment. Privately, Marius feels empathy to the Alien minorities and personally feels an ease on their harsh treatment is long overdue, but powerful public opinion and the geopolitical standoff between the Triumvirate and the Alien nations impedes, if not prevents, Marius from taking decisive action to help out the Alien species in Pythas. In a secret conversation to his fellow Consul, Atticus Metellus, Marius seems to be in favor of at least granting certain friendly Alien races such as the Turians and the Salarians, more freedoms to rival if not equal that of Humans. .